A new study from Stanford University shows how aspirin can reduce the risk of developing melanoma, most dangerous type of skin cancer, reports Medical Xpress.
Melanoma is currently the deadliest form of skin cancer affecting 95 percent of Caucasian women and Australia ranks the highest in melanoma cases in the world. Hence, the research was conducted on nearly 60,000 Caucasian women between the ages 50 to 79 years old. The women's daily dietary habits and their use of aspirin or any other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug was taken into consideration. Researchers observed these women's routine including their physical activities for a long period of 12 years.
The data of 59,806 women was taken from Women's Health Initiative and it was found that women who took more aspirin were at a lower risk of developing the disease.
"Aspirin works by reducing inflammation and this may be why using aspirin may lower your risk of developing melanoma," said Jean Tang MD, PhD, of Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, who teamed up with her colleagues to conduct the research.
Aspirin is used as an anti-inflammatory drug, and is beneficial in pain relief, fever reduction, heart attack prevention and and is helpful in preventing certain type of cancers. The new study shows aspirin may have a significant importance in reducing the risk of developing melanoma.
During the period of the study, it was found that women who took aspirin over a longer period of time were less likely to develop the deadly skin cancer. Researchers noted the impact of aspirin based on the period of time it was used.
Women who took aspirin for a period of one year had 11 percent lower chances of developing melanoma. Similarly, women who took aspirin between one to four years and five or more years, had 22 percent and 30 percent less possibility of developing the skin disease, respectively. On an average, 21 percent of women were less likely of developing the disease against the women who did not take aspirin at all.
Similar benefits were not seen with the use of other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Tang said it may be because of the fact that women used aspirin more regularly than any other anti-inflammatory drug.
"The results of this study add to the results found by other studies that strongly suggest that aspirin may have anti-cancer properties," Tang concluded. But a further analysis on a large scale is necessary before prescribing the medicine to prevent the disease.
The findings of the study are published online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
